Tag Archives: drip irrigation

Drip watering container plants. I have posted about drip watering in the past. Some of my installations worked out better than others.

This time I need to water 2 tomato plants, 2 squash and a container filled with small green onions.

I opted to use a 5 or 6 gallon bucket as my water container. I had on hand several short sections of 1/8 drip feed line, valves, emitters and barbs.

Barb(s) are sued to attach drip lines to my bucket as well as to splice short drip hoses together when I need longer drip lines.

Emitters attach to the end of my drip lines at the plant base. Emitters can be purchased that dispense water rated at GPH(gallons per hour). The emitters I had are rated at 1/2 GPH.

Much to my surprise, the emitters didn’t work! It seems that I received a FFI, failure to follow instructions. That 1/2 GPH rating is based on a line pressure of 20 to 40 PSI(pounds per square inch.
My gravity feed bucked failed the pressure requirement.

Plan B Remove emitters and allow water to free flow from the 1/8 inch drip lines.
Yea for me.
Without the emitters attached, water free flows nicely. Taking about 1 1/2 hours to drain 2 gallons of water from my bucket. I’m putting 2 gallons in my bucket twice a day. Once at about 7 or 8 AM and again about 7 or so in the PM.

Results. So far and it’s been about a week of 95 – 102 degree days. Container soils have remained nicely moist, not to wet, and with this slow application no water has drained out the bottom of my containers and soil temperatures are remaining fairly cool. Cool soil in hot weather for tomato plants is a good thing.

How I did it. I used an ice pick to punch the hole near the bottom of my bucket where I used epoxy glue to glue barbs into the bucket. After the glue setup I attached my 1/8 inch drip lines(rubber tubing).
Note, I think a 1/8 inch drill bit is the correct size to drill the barb holes. BUT, test this hole size before drilling holes in your bucket. However using a liberal amount of glue on the barbs should help you avoid and unwanted leaks.

Added side benefit using left over and recycled parts, cost on my container drip watering system was $0.00 United States Dollars.
Also I can add fertilized to my bucket when a dose of fertilizer is needed.

Not from the USA. Please leave me comment about your home town and country.

If you see or read something you like Please Share By Re-blogging, Twitter or Email To A Friend.

Why is common sense so uncommon?
Don’t be Shy. Leave me your Comment(s)

Weather man must have been asleep at his computer terminal. We are getting a un-forecast rain. Since 2:15AM I have received 1.15 inches of rain. Well it’s not me most rain I have ever had, but, it’s the most I have had in a very long time.

I had to construct a new blade for my old horse drawn road grader(built around 1905). I finely have taken time to design the mounting brackets, welded the brackets to the back side of the blade and have it bolted to the blade table. That’s the part that allows me to rotate the blade left to right as well as tilt the blade.

I think all I still need to do is to build and mount a tongue so the road grader can be pulled behind a tractor or pick-up truck. A good paint job and it will make a Grin … an interesting yard ornament.
The horse drawn Lister re-build has been finished and it is still waiting a paint job. After they are painted I will post pictures of both.

In the garden, Sunday I pulled enough container grown Radishes and Green Onions to top off a nice dinner salad. Beets are still a bit to small to harvest.
I have 6 pots with grape tomato seedlings and 2 pots of better girl tomato’s about 3/4 inch tall. I will plant then in the garden after they have set their first ‘true’ leafs.

During the winter I constructed a 50 foot long drip watering line. Emitters are spaced about every 2 feet. This summers garden experiment I will plant tomato’s every 4 feet and plant cucumbers, yellow squash or zucchini between each tomato vine. I think mostly cucumbers and tomato’s.

In a week or so the soil temperature will be warm enough to direct garden plant my warm weather plants, cucumbers, squash and okra.

Not from the USA. Please leave me comment about your home town and country.

If you see or read something you like Please Share By Re-blogging, Twitter or Email To A Friend.

Why is common sense so uncommon?
Don’t be Shy. Leave me your Comment(s)